“You saw how upset he makes me. I’d rather take my chances and hope he leaves me alone. Thankfully, most of what I do, I can do from home.”
“Come on, El, listen to yourself. Do you really want that? You have to do something. Don’t let this prick have this control over you. Avoiding it and hoping he will go away isn’t going to solve anything.”
I toss my head back in frustration. What can I really do? “Let me think about it. Right now I gotta eat; I’m starving.”
He kisses me and says, “Good. Me too. Do you wanna go grab something?”
“If you want to.”
“I just want to make you smile,” he says sitting up in bed.
“You do. I’m sorry if this has my head twisted. You make me so happy. Being with you right now is the only thing that’s keeping me sane.”
He laughs at my comment. “Now, that’s a first. Wait ’til I tell my psychologist that.”
“You have a psychologist?” I blurt out, immediately feeling like an asshole for sounding so pompous.
“I do. It’s required by the military that I see him.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to say it that way.”
“It’s okay,” he says getting dressed.
“Do you see him often?” I ask.
He nods his head pulling his shirt over it. “He’s helped me through a lot of shit, especially with my PTSD and all that.”
I follow suit, not really sure how to respond to him. “I’ve never talked to anyone.”
“You should, Roger would be happy to help you. Especially with all this shit that happened with your ex. He’d give you a clear perspective on how to handle things.
“Maybe,” I respond, scared to commit to anything at the moment. “Where should we go eat?” I ask hoping that getting out of the house will help me.
“I think I have the perfect place. Do you have a blanket we could bring?”
“Yeah.” I rip the comforter off of my bed and he laughs.
“That’ll work. Dress warm.”
I put on some sweats and a hoody then turn to him. He’s sitting on the edge of the bed watching me. “You’re so gorgeous, you know that?”
I wrap my arms around his neck and look into his brown eyes. They’re so dark that they sparkle. And when he looks at me, I love the way they dance.
“So are you,” I respond and kiss him.
He kisses me back. The instant our lips touch, all my worries vanish. All that matters is Nate and I.
“Let’s get going,” he says once we stop, with a huge grin on his face. I brush the hair out of my face and grab my comforter. “On second thought, do you have something smaller?” he asks.
Leaving the comforter on my bed, I grab a soft throw from the hall closet. Then we load up in Nate’s car and hit the road. As we drive, I try and decipher where we are going based on each turn he makes. I’m surprised when he pulls into the local supermarket.
“You wanted food, right?”
“Of course, but I have food at my house.”
“Just follow my lead here, I don’t wanna ruin the surprise.”
“Okay.” We get out of the car and head inside. Nate grabs a small handheld basket and I grab his other arm, holding it as we go through the store. Shopping with Nate is fun; I could definitely see us doing it more. Once we check out, we load up and head to our final destination.
“Can I at least have a hint?” I whine.
“I gave you one.”
“Saying we are going to eat this food there doesn’t count. I want to know where we are going.”
“Can’t help there.”
“Please?”
“Be patient,” he says reaching over, running his right hand up my thigh and then finally clenching my *. He cups it and holds me, completely content. I sit back, obeying his word. He wants patience, I can give it to him. I watch Nate drive, so in control, the darkness of the night making his skin glow. Every time a car passes us by there is a glimmer in eyes. Looking at Nate makes me lose track of where we are going. “Why are you staring?” he asks rubbing over my sex.
“I’m focusing on patience, like you asked.”
“Good, then stare away.”
He keeps driving, taking turn after turn after turn, and I wonder at this point if he’s just driving in circles. But it doesn’t matter, I’m with Nate and that makes me happy.
Finally he turns down a familiar road. Alongside of us is the Atlantic. I wonder if we are going to have a picnic on the beach. Blanket, food, beach…that has to be it.
“I know where we’re going,” I tell him.
“You do?” he asks, glancing at me.
“The beach?”
He shakes his head. “Nope, not the beach.”
“Really?” I was positive of it.
The road suddenly forks off and Nate goes to the right where there is a desolate little lot. He pulls in and nudges the nose of his car up to the edge of the cliff. Looking out the windshield, the expansive ocean lies before us. It is dark, but the moon shines down casting just the right amount of shadows that show peaks of waves here and there. Jesus, the waves are huge tonight.